The College Perspective by Lindsey

In recent news, numbers of tourists in the country of Iran have grown over the past few years, leading tourism companies to travel more often to the country. Besides the restrictions of life in Iran, including no alcohol and all women, even those who are just visiting, having to wear a head scarf to avoid scrutiny, many tourists from Spain, France, and even the United States has grown.

Even though the countries anti-Western feelings haven’t changed, tourists are finding the area more and more popular, causing the tourist industry in Iran to be overhauled. There aren’t many places for nightlife or even hotels, as the country has been secluded for many years, but the sheer amount of history, as well as food and culture that can be found in Iran is drawing in more visitors.

All of these tourists have led to an increase in a process called Couchsurfing, where people from Iran are allowing tourists to sleep in their homes, something many tourists welcome as an opportunity to see their culture up close. However, this is frowned upon by the government, and several individuals have been arrested for fraternizing too much with foreigners by having them in their homes.

Overall, the lead to this story was semi-confusing. It sounded like a pros and cons paper until the third paragraph, where they finally talked about the increase in tourism in Iran. However, I do think the article is newsworthy, as ever since this war with the Middle East has started, many Americans seem to forget how this affected the other side of the country that isn’t fighting Americans but instead just trying to live their lives.

The audience seems to be most of the world that isn’t Iran, but especially Americans who would be least likely to visit Iran for fun. The lead brings in interest with readers, but doesn’t quite get the point off right away, you have to keep reading to find an explanation for the title. The article doesn’t have a point of view except to maybe encourage some people to travel to Iran, but it is missing some points of why so many tourists have suddenly decided they want to visit this country, when as the article pointed out that the tourist industry there is lacking in many ways and could still be dangerous to many individuals.

The link to the original article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/world/middleeast/iran-western-tourism.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news